Roy Miller had what Pat Kirwan of Sirius NFL Radio deems a good year last season for a rookie defensive tackle.

In recent days Joe brought you all sorts of information from Pat Kirwan who indirectly cautioned Bucs fans to have patience with quarterback Josh Freeman.

Kirwan also had the same advice for Bucs fans with the development of rookie defensive tackles, namely Gerald McCoy and Brian Price.

Like he did with quarterbacks, Kirwan, an on-air personality for Sirius NFL Radio and a columnist for NFL.com, went back a few years to study how rookie defensive tackles measured up.

The numbers weren’t pretty. In short, Bucs fans should have modest goals for GMC and Price.

“I’ve always said, 30 tackles and three sacks are nice numbers for a rookie defensive tackle,” Kirwan told his radio audience last week.

That’s not exactly All Pro numbers.

Part of this is, Kirwan noted, rookie defensive tackles are going up against men. While in college, they often used their sheer physical abilities to get past lesser offensive linemen, in some cases fresh out of high school.

It’s a world of difference overpowering a 19-year old kid still struggling with acne and trying to do the same against a 29-year old man in the prime of his physical condition.

For evidence of how rookie defensive tackles struggled, Joe only needed to do a little research from last year.

B.J. Raji (Packers), Peria Jerry (Falcons) and Ziggy Hood (Steelers) were all first round draft picks in 2009.

Raji played in 14 games, started one, had 25 combined tackles and one sack. Jerry, riddled with injuries, played in just two games with one tackle and one assist. Hood played in 16 games, had eight tackles and one assist.

By comparison, Bucs rookie defensive tackle Roy Miller, drafted in the third round, had what Kirwan would describe as a good year. He had 33 tackles and two sacks playing in 15 games.

Based on this information, while Joe doesn’t expect GMC or Price to light things up this year, Joe is sort of expecting Miller to continue to be a beacon of light on what was a dark area of the defense.

Surfing the net last night hoping not to find any Bucs who had to call mommy for a lift, Joe came across a very positive item about another Bucs player who has had transportation issues himself in the past.

CBSSports.com’s Pete Prisco recently listed who he thought to be some of the most underrated players in the NFL. Aqib Talib, a Bucs starting cornerback, made Prisco’s list.

Forget the off-field issues of the past. He’s a good cover player. Matt Ryan raved about him when I spent time with him watching tape.

Prisco isn’t the only person Joe has heard this from. Joe has spoken with various Bucs insiders in recent weeks and if anything can be gleamed from dudes running in shorts at the Bucs OTAs, it’s that Talib was sticking on people like glue and was all over the defensive backfield.

Bucs fans, of course, know Talib is a damn fine player. This year very well could mean his NFL breakout year when all knowledgeable NFL fans know his name.

When Joe thinks of former Bucs headed to Canton, Joe always first thinks of Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp and John Lynch. And then Joe is always up for debating the chances of Ronde Barber and Mike Alstott. 

But Joe never thinks of Tony Dungy when it comes to the Bucs-to-the-Hall discussion.

Perhaps Joe should. It’s an interesting debate.

Pat “Vacation Man” Yasinskas, NFC South scribe for BSPN.com, considered potential Hall of Famers from NFC South teams. And he picked Dungy as the guy for the Bucs.

Case for enshrinement: The knock on Dungy in Tampa was that he couldn’t win the big one and the Bucs had to turn to Jon Gruden to get them their Super Bowl victory. But Dungy was largely responsible for building that team and changing the entire football climate in Tampa Bay. Building around Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp and John Lynch, Dungy took the defensive philosophy he learned in Pittsburgh and built the famed “Tampa 2’’ defense, which became a phenomenon around the league. He also built a lengthy coaching tree with Herm Edwards, Jim Caldwell, Lovie Smith, Rod Marinelli and Mike Tomlin going on to become head coaches.

Case against enshrinement: With all of the defensive talent he had in Tampa Bay and Peyton Manning in Indianapolis, Dungy only won one Super Bowl title.

First, Joe’s not sure why Vacation Man thinks Dungy’s “head coaching tree” would factor into getting him into the Hall of Fame.

That aside, Dungy had a sick regular season winning percentage, bringing home a victory in two-thirds of his games. But he has a losing record in the playoffs and only one Super Bowl ring, despite extraordinary talent with the Bucs and Colts.

Tom Flores sticks out in Joe’s mind as a standout coach that didn’t make the Hall. He’s got two Super Bowl rings and a winning record in the regular season and postseason (8-3) with Oakland, but he tanked in Seattle. Flores also was a standout player, whereas Dungy wasn’t, if that even makes a difference.

Joe has trouble judging a coach beyond wins and losses and rings (see Don Coryell). Dungy, of course, is off the charts with his intangibles, from great guy extraordinaire to crafting the Tampa 2.

Joe thinks Dungy would be a shoe-in with one more ring. Time will tell.

Joe has had many posts today about Bucs right tackle Jeremy Trueblood being arrested last night for public drunkenness, and per a police report, being “belligerent” in a convenience store.

Trueblood said that’s all nonsense.

Texting to Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, Trueblood claims he was not in any store last night.

“Oddly enough, I never stepped in a gas station, or out of my passenger seat till they made me,” Trueblood said in a text message sent to The Tribune this afternoon.

Trueblood, who has started 61 consecutive games for the Bucs, was held in the Hancock County Jail after Greenfield, Ind. Police said he and another man riding in a car driven by Trueblood’s mother became belligerent during a traffic stop.

“They were locked up for failing to cooperate and for public intoxication,” Maj. Derek Towle of the Greenfield Police Department said of Trueblood, 27, and Benjamin McKenny, 26.

Ironically, Trueblood had a few drinks at a golf outing and called his mom for a ride home.

Now this is an interesting set of circumstances. The cops claim a store clerk called 911 because Trueblood was out of hand in the establishment. Trueblood claims he wasn’t in the store.

Easy enough to solve: Pull the surveillance tapes.

Oh, and Trueblood’s agent said he was not arrested, again per Cummings. Hhmmm. So cops in Indiana have S&M fetishes and cuff people off the street for no good reason?

Remember when you were young and mom told you whenever you got into trouble to call her?

Well, Bucs right tackle Jeremy Trueblood, being the good son he is, did just that. While he wasn’t in trouble — what’s wrong with a few drinks? — Trueblood called mom for a ride, which is what precipitated Trueblood getting thrown into a cage last night, writes Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times.

Ironically, the incident started with what was a wise decision from Trueblood. After playing golf at a local course, he and McKenny became intoxicated and decided not to drive home in that state. Trueblood called his mother, Wanda, to drive them home, according to police.

On the way, they stopped at a local gas station, and that’s where Towle said the problem initiated. The clerk there called police, accusing two customers — said to be Trueblood and McKenny — acting disorderly. The clerk said they were knocking items off shelves, throwing cup lids and bumped into a woman holding a small child.

When the clerk saw them get into a car and drive away, he reported a possible case of drunk driving. An officer was dispatched and stopped the vehicle, though it was determined by officers that Trueblood’s mother was not drunk.

Props to Trueblood for being responsible. Joe’s impressed.

And let this be a lesson to all those young, budding partiers in Joe’s reading audience: You’re never too old to call mom!

Per a police report obtained by Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, Jeremy Trueblood was allegedly “disruptive” at a convenience store and was drunk while his mom was a driver.

This is the information police allege took place last night as the Bucs right tackle was locked up by police in Indiana.

Trueblood, an Indianapolis native, was arrested about 10:30 p.m. in Greenfield, Maj. Derek Towell said. He was taken to the Hancock County jail.

Towell said his department received a call shortly after 10 p.m. from a gas station clerk complaining about two men who entered his store and disrupted business before leaving in a car driven by a third person.

The driver of the car was Trueblood’s mother, Wanda, Towell said. A third member of the party, Benjamin McKenny, was also arrested on a public intoxication charge, Towell said.

Other details of the police report, which Cummings details in his story, police claim Trueblood was “belligerent” and that his actions were the reason the cops came down with the hammer.

Joe can understand how this took place. Cops, as they sometimes tend to be because they have to deal with human debris so often, may have been short with Trueblood’s mother and Trueblood took offense, and the dominoes began to fall.

Again, Joe believes this to be a very minor issue.

Updated 8:40 a.m. – It seems Jeremy Trueblood got a bit tipsy in Indiana Tuesday, per WXIN-TV in Indianapolis.

Trueblood was a passenger in a car that was parked at a gas station and someone called 911 on them. Next thing you know, Trueblood is sitting in a cage.

According to WXIN-TV, the FOX affiliate in Indianapolis, Trueblood was a passenger in a car that stopped at a gas station for directions. Someone reportedly called 911 at that time but WXIN did not have any further information as to what happened.

Police tell WXIN that Trueblood has been cooperative and should be released on bond Wednesday morning. …

While the officer was speaking to the driver, back seat passenger Benjamin McKenny identified himself as a Hamilton County Corrections Officer and said “everything is alright.” The officer smelled an odor of alcohol and asked for identification from all of the passengers. 

The officer continued to ask for identification when the passengers, including Trueblood, became uncooperative, belligerent and verbally abusive to the officers. Trueblood, 27, and McKenny, 26, failed to cooperate and comply with the officers.

McKenny and Trueblood were both arrested for public intoxication and the driver, Wanda Trueblood, was cited for not having a seatbelt on.

If it’s just for being hammered, this is beyond trivial. But if Trueblood didn’t cooperate with officers, then that’s a different bag. 

Bucs and Trueblood fans can rest easy knowing that Trueblood won’t miss any game time for this run in.  Helmet-wielding Aqib Talib’s recent run-in with a cab driver was far worse, and the Bucs have all but turned their nose at that.

Brad writes:

Joe,

I follow your website religiously from the North Georgia Mountains. By far, joebucsfan.com is the best place to find news about my beloved Bucs. I enjoy your site so much that I even follow you on Twitter. But for the love of god, keep the Twitter account for Bucs news only. I could care less about your man-crush on Jack Bauer. I could care less about the Rays game. This is Joe Bucs Fan. Not Joe 24 fan. Not Joe Rays fan. Keep it to yourself.

Keep staying positive with the Bucs. Loyal fans need that sense of optimism. There are a lot of good things in motion right for our team.

Tampa…………………………………………………….Baaaayyyy.

Brad:

First, as always, thanks for reading JoeBucsFan.com. Joe is humbled that you are a dedicated reader.

You are not the first one to complain about Joe’s 24 musings. These irritated Joe’s good friend “The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig, to no end. But sadly, FOX made the terrible decision to drop the series. So you won’t read too many more 24 Twitter posts from Joe.

To your point, Joe believes Twitter to be an interactive medium. Joe just can’t stand the arrogance if not ignorance of some Bucs site that only posts thought-provoking comments on Twitter such as “Top Five posted.”

As Joe documented yesterday, he had a good back-and-forth with Howard Balzer of The Sporting News recently. Also yesterday, Greg Aiello, head of the NFL’s public relations department, responded positively to a Twitter post Joe had concerning the proposed 18-game regular season. Rich Eisen of the NFL Network has re-Twittered a post Joe had as well not long ago. 

None of those posts in question were Bucs-specific posts, just good football posts.

As Joe is sure you are aware, Joe follows some heavy-hitters in sports media, primarily football writers. Roughly 30 percent of the time they are posting non-football thoughts. In fact, Joe was in a 24 loop with Steve White, dapper Rick Brown of the Lakeland Ledger, Justin Pawlowski, of WDAE-AM 620, Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com and Chris Mortensen of ESPN where we would trade 24 thoughts each Monday night.

(Joe was shocked on a recent, beer-soaked Friday night that when he wrote about how his gorgeous Hooters barmaid looked strikingly like what Joe envisions Heather Van Nest’s younger, more well-endowed sister to look like, no one responded.)

Joe understands where you are coming from Brad. Currently, Joe daily has to sift through dozens if not hundreds of non-basketball association and foreign kickball posts through Twitter.  Joe strongly believes that Twitter is interactive and a way to flush out one’s personality.

Just this morning for example, Adam Schefter is Twittering about this attention starved LUH-bron James character, who Joe has never seen play basketball for one minute and the guy is “this close” to joining serial adulterer Eldrick Woods territory for Joe as his most loathed athletes.

Kinda hard to show a personality by writing such whimsical thoughts as “Quick Hits posted,” provided said person even has a personality.

Joe apologizes if, say, when he sees midget Mexican bullfighting on cable TV in a bar and has an opinion (yes, Joe really did see such a show from a watering hole recently) that Joe doesn’t offend you.

Joe was asked yesterday, since Joe launched JoeRaysFan.com with his good friend and new colleague Cork Gaines of RaysIndex.com, that Joe would only post Rays thoughts on a JoeRaysFan Twitter account. But that would mean Joe would have to constantly log in and log out of accounts throughout the night. That would be quite cumbersome.

Joe only asks that you skim through the non-Bucs musings.

Oh, and if Joe has a mancrush on anyone, it’s Albert Pujols. Kinda hard to have a mancrush on a fictional character like Jack Bauer. 🙂

Joe will leave his real crush with Rachel Watson. Sadly, to Joe’s knowledge, she does not Twitter.

Readers willing to lodge angry missives at Joe can e-mail him at hatemail@JoeBucsFan.com.

Peter Gammons

A few months ago noted national baseball scribe Peter Gammons spread a slanderous lie that the local radio broadcasts of the Yankmees pulled in more listeners than the local broadcasts of the Rays, heard on WDAE-AM 620.

That’s like saying Rachel Watson is a dead ringer for Susan Boyle. Gammons’ lie couldn’t have been further from the truth.

Being a man of honor, Gammons, once he realized his slur was exposed, refused to stand before the Tampa Bay media and hid in his Boston bunker, or perhaps under the anchor desk of the MLB Network.

Well, a well-known member of the Rays media crew suggests Gammons is planting rumors via Twitter in a devious move to undermind the Rays.

Read more about it on JoeRaysFan.com.

Joe is proud to announce the formation of the JoeBucsFan.com/620 WDAE-AM Message Boards with his business partners at the Buccaneers’ flagship radio station.

Everything has kicked off, and Joe’s encouraging everyone to go there and chat it up about the Bucs, the Rays and just about anything else.

Classic back and forth goes on among Bucs fans in the comments here on JoeBucsFan.com. But Joe knows that a message board forum is really the best way for fans to control the chatter and communicate freely.

Think about all the great debates you can start right now, such as who’s hotter, Carmella Garcia or former Bucs cheerleader Rachel Watson? Or who will be cut first, Michael Clayton or someone on the wrong end of Aqib Talib’s next training camp outburst? Or even an instant classic, like Chucky versus Raheem The Dream?

Just do Joe a favor and join Joe at JoeBucsFan.com/620 WDAE-AM message boards. Start up some conversation and Joe will be in there often to mix it up, and Joe will even drive you there through the season with some exclusive content and contests.

You’ll also hear promotion of the message boards on the radio, see it on the 620WDAE.com homepage and right here.

Joe is humbled by your continued support, as Joe tries to provide for Bucs fans everywhere.

Chucky’s former quarterback coach turned offensive coordinator Greg Olson is trying to spin the tale that the Chucky-and-duck offense is better off than throwing the ball deep, so reports Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune.

On passes thrown between 11 and 20 yards downfield Freeman completed just 42-percent of his throws (34 of 81), and with 12 interceptions and only three touchdowns on such throws he compiled a passer rating of just 39. Not only that, but the more Freeman aired the ball out, the more difficulty he had.

Freeman threw 34 passes between 21 and 40 yards downfield, but he completed only 11 of them for a 32.3 completion percentage. And more often than not, Freeman was intercepted on those bombs, getting picked off five times while throwing just three touchdown passes.

Now, it’s not atypical for a passer to have more difficulty completing passes deep downfield, but these stats are an indication that while Freeman’s big arm can be a big asset, his ability to steadily move the chains may be the thing that allows him and the Bucs to enjoy some success.

As Joe has pointed out in recent days, he doesn’t expect Freeman to light things up this year but certainly hopes he does.

With rookie- and a second-year wide receivers and a lethargic rushing attack, Joe has a feeling defenses will be throwing everything but the proverbial kitchen sink at Freeman this season.

Can’t get enough Joe? Well now you have the new JoeRaysFan.com to enjoy.

Joe’s extraordinarily pumped up about this. And for good reason. Joe is now partners with the genius that is RaysIndex.com, a long-established Rays blog with many, many tens of thousands of regular readers.

JoeRaysFan.com and RaysIndex.com are now one site, conjoined much like Joe wishes he was with Rachel Watson.

Readers here on JoeBucsFan.com will see Joe promote his daily Rays column, and the new JoeRaysFan.com will drive quite a bit of new traffic over here.

(For you business buffs, this now means that Joe has moved much higher on the food chain to become one of the most powerful voices in professional sports in the Bay area.)

So do Joe a favor and check out JoeRaysFan.com. Joe will be responding to comments there all day.

**Another major announcement is coming about 5 p.m. today**

"Jimminy Christmas, you're going to put Don Coryell in the Pro Football Hall of Fame before Barry Switzer?"

Of course Joe is human, despite what some believe. He is not the great Satan as some suggest.

So when Joe heard of former NFL coach Don Coryell passing away, Joe was somewhat saddened. Joe was in grade school, and later high school, when Coryell coached the old St. Louis Cardinals to two division titles before his pass-happy, outscore-the-opponent style of play flamed out in five years without winning a playoff game.

He later went on to San Diego where he passed even more and had only slightly better success with the same concept: who cares how much the other team scores, we’ll outscore them.

Coryell retired without getting his heralded teams to a Super Bowl. They were fun to watch but his style of football was once again reinforced by the football gods that a team has to occasionally play defense to win in the postseason.

So when Joe read in recent days from reasoned, seasoned football writers, two in particular Joe has a world of respect and admiration for, Howard Balzer and Peter King, advocate that Coryell should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Joe nearly fell off his barstool.

Wha… what???

Joe nearly threw up when he read this. By what standards should a man who had marginal success as an NFL coach, who never reached a Super Bowl, be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame???

Joe got into a back-and-forth on Twitter with Balzer — who Joe was unaware followed him on Twitter — about the Coryell subject. Joe is rather humbled that Balzer follows Joe, in all seriousness.

Balzer told Joe that Coryell belongs because he was an innovator whose teachings are still being practiced today. Joe countered that if that is the criteria, then Red Hickey and Bum Phillips should also be strong candidates for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In Joe’s eyes, innovation does not equal elite.

Hickey coached the 49ers in the 1950s. He is largely credited with developing the shotgun formation, which is still used by virtually every team today. Joe has yet to hear any sober person make the case for Hickey to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Depending on what book you read, Bum Phillips, as a high school coach in Texas in the 1950s, taught then-Texas A&M coach Bear Bryant zone blocking for offensive linemen (some books credit Vince Lombardi developing zone blocking at Army during the same time period). To this day, virtually every NFL team uses zone blocking up front. Joe has yet to hear anyone campaign for Phillips as a Hall of Fame coach.

Joe looked up Coryell’s postseason record (.333).  Here’s some coaches who, like Coryell, never reached the Super Bowl who have better postseason records: Phillips (.571), Lou Saban (.500), Walt Michaels (.500), Jerry “Mr.” Burns (.500), Jerry Glanville (.429), Steve Mariucci (.429), Dick Nolan (.400), John Robinson (.400), Dave Wannstedt (!) (.400) and Chuck Knox (.389).

None of these coaches made it to a Super Bowl but had better postseason records than Coryell. Joe has yet to hear anyone of these coaches talked about as Hall of Fame coaches. None.

Let’s see, Paul Brown, Chuck Noll, Bill Walsh, Don Shula, Joe Gibbs, Tom Landry, Lombardi and Coryell. Which name doesn’t fit?

Joe remembers watching George Allen coach rings around Coryell, often using the same play in the fourth quarter over and over and over and Cardinals coaches could never adjust. It seemed all too often in close games Coryell was overly quick to abandon a solid running game with bruising Jim Otis running behind — at that time — one of the NFL’s best offensive lines, only to go 3-and-out with the pass.

To Joe, that’s not smart football. That’s not what Hall of Fame coaches do.

If a man wasn’t even the second-best coach in his division, exactly how can he be mentioned as a serious Hall of Fame candidate?

Please, someone, anyone, go back to the 1970s or early 1980s and find any reference where people thought Coryell was Hall of Fame material. Generally when a player or coach is in the prime of their careers, one thinks, “Man, that guy is a Hall of Famer.” This never happened when Coryell was on the sidelines. It’s revisionist history at its worst. Because Coryell was the second coach (Noll was the first) to play Nintendo football, he’s a Hall of Fame candidate, really???

Oh, and take a guess who John McKay beat in the Bucs’ very first home win in 1977? That’s right, Don Coryell and the Cardinals! The Bucs defense held the great offensive mastermind Coryell to a lone touchdown that day.

Joe is convinced most of this nonsense about putting Coryell into the Hall of Fame is hatched because of NFL Films’ great work on the overtime classic when Coryell’s Chargers beat Miami in the Orange Bowl in the first round of the 1981 playoffs, largely thanks to Kellen Winslow’s block of a very makeable Uwe von Schamann field goal attempt.

If Von Schamann makes that field goal, Joe is guessing there wouldn’t be any talk of Coryell in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

And what did Coryell’s vaunted team do the next week in the AFC Championship? They got waxed in the frigid Riverfront Stadium by none other than Forrest Gregg.

No, Don Coryell should not be in the Hall of Fame. The Pro Football Hall of Fame is for the elite, not the pretty good.

And if Coryell is ever inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, then there is absolutely zero reason to keep Chucky out of the Hall of Fame. NONE!

The gall to have this man, Coryell, who never coached in a Super Bowl, would be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame before men who won two rings like Tom Flores and George Siefert, is appalling to Joe!

Unlike Coryell, Chucky got a team to the Super Bowl, and crushed his opponent, largely due to outstanding coaching.

Chucky’s coaching.

Someone explain to Joe a championship game Coryell’s team won due to his superior coaching.

That example does not exist.

If Coryell is elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Joe is going to go on a crusade to get Chucky elected that will make Joe’s advances upon Rachel Watson pale in comparison!

If Derrick Ward can have a breakout season this fall, it will go a long way to helping Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman.

Yesterday Joe brought you tidbits from NFL.com and Sirius NFL Radio’s Pat Kirwan who documented how quarterbacks in their first full season behind center are expected to struggle.

With Freeman, it seems ominous due to the fact that he really has only oneestablished target, Kellen Winslow, to throw to. A running game would certainly help. Even eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune acknowledges as such on a TBO.com Bucs Q&A feature.

Q:  How do you think Josh Freeman will do this season against some of the hardest defenses?

Corydon Metcalf, Indiana, Penn.

A: Freeman has a long way to go in terms of recognizing coverages and learning to throw the ball away instead of trying to force things. That 6.2 percent interception rate is way too high, but he was only a rookie and now he’s had a full offseason to work with offensive coordinator Greg Olson and new QBs coach Alex Van Pelt. Teams like the Steelers and Ravens will test the accuracy of any QB and Freeman is working with a young group of wide receivers. His development would be helped immensely if the Bucs can manage a productive ground game.

— eye-RAH! Kaufman

This concerns Joe, as well, because Joe believes the Bucs have a deep stable of running back –deep with average-at-best running backs.

As Joe has pointed out before, Earnest Graham, 30, was knocked out for the season with injures sustained the past two seasons. He is expected to start at fullback again this year. Cadillac Williams, God love the guy, is playing on two man-made knees. Derrick Ward seems to chase Kardashians better than run, but to be fair, the jury is still out on Ward.

It would help if the Bucs could somehow average better than four yards a carry, which was 25th in the NFL last season.

Less than 10 weeks from the opening day kickoff against the Browns (circled as a “W” on many Bucs’ fans schedule), Joe finds himself reading up on all things Cleveland on this lazy, rainy Monday-after-the-Fourth holiday.

Before Joe shares some of his research, Joe can’t help but think of another person with that Bucs-Browns game highlighted on his calendar — and in his heart. That would be Kellen Winslow. Given all of Winslow’s drama in Cleveland — the accusations of not being a team guy, Grapefruitgate, the staph infections and the overall sour situation — Winslow must be yearning to punish the Browns.

How sweet would it be to see Winslow try and put the team on his back on opening day?

As for the Browns, Terry Pluto, of the Plain-Dealer, invested time detailing a list of things he expects to see from the Browns. …It’s clear, per Pluto, that Cleveland has a pile of questions in its secondary.

1. First-rounder Joe Haden will not be one of the starting cornerbacks. The Browns will work him in gradually in nickel and dime coverages. They’ll go with veterans Eric Wright and Sheldon Brown at cornerback, with Haden the main backup.

2. The Browns say they love Michael Adams on special teams, and every year he plays more in the defensive backfield than planned. That won’t change this season. In fact, he could play a lot of safety.

3. Rookie safeties T.J. Ward and Larry Asante will deliver huge hits, but both will worry the coaches when it comes to pass coverage. That’s why Adams will be important.

Joe will be as fired up as any other fan on opening day, and cheering from the first whistle. But Joe just can’t get too hopeful, as much as Joe wants to put the Bucs down for a W. It simply comes back to having to rely on so many rookies.

Joe has mentioned this several times before and he is all but shouted down by Bucs fans:

Until a CBA is agreed upon with the NFLPA, don’t expect the Bucs to sign many free agents.

Jamie Dukes, of the NFL Network, seems to channel frustrated Bucs fans in a recent NFL.com chat when he claims Team Glazer has no cash.

Matt, NJ

This is the second time I am writing this Dukes! I have submitted this question every week since the draft!!! What’s up with Tampa Bay? The only offensive threat they have is Winslow, and no other help for Freeman. Why don’t they persue T.O. or another free agent?

Jamie Dukes, NFL Network

Money…

Well, it’s not quite that simple. If that were the case, this would be a major surprise to people like Mike Nugent, Luke McCown and Kellen Winslow. But why rely on Joe when you can read the words of NFL.com columnist Vic Carucci, who spelled out the financial issues of various NFL teams in an NFL.com chat over the weekend.

Shane, Los Angeles, CA

VC: Why arent more teams taking advantage of the uncapped year? Teams could take their franchise players and negotiate long term deals for the better management of future salary caps. As an example, the Cards could take Dockett, resign him to a 5-yr deal, give him 50% up front, 30% in base salary (over the remaining 5 years) and use the remaining 20% on incentives. I know there is risk, but for every Haynesworth there are ten Mannings or this league wouldnt work.

Vic Carucci, Senior Columnist, NFL.com

You make good points, but I think the biggest risk that is being considered is the uncertain labor situation. Teams are reluctant to lay out a lot of cash for players knowing that if there is no football for part or all of 2011, they won’t have any income. Another factor is the economy, which has hit NFL club owners as hard as it has hit so many other parts of corporate America. It has had a real impact on cash flow, another reason for a more cautious approach at least for the time being.

In short, as Pittsburgh general manager Kevin Colbert said months ago on Sirius NFL Radio, how can teams responsibly throw money at players when they do not know what the salary cap will be two years from now, thus painting themselves, potentially, into salary cap hell?

Earlier today, Joe brought you news that Sirius NFL Radio’s Pat Kirwan suggested Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman (among other NFL quarterbacks who will start a full season for the first time) will struggle this year.

Some of Joe’s readers mocked Kirwan for such a stance. But on NFL.com, Kirwan document his research that led to his conclusion. Kirwan emphasizes this is not a knock on Freeman, but to note that it — with rare exceptions — takes time for a quarterback to learn the NFL game.

Friday, as Joe listened to “Movin’ the Chains,” heard exclusively on Sirius NFL Radio co-hosted by Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan, Kirwan had an interesting piece that Bucs fans should heed.

Kirwan has gone on record that he likes Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman. But to expect Freeman to light things up this year, well, that may be expecting too much. Kirwan did some research and detailed the struggles most quarterbacks undergo.

Kirwan went on to say how the Matt Ryan’s of the world are far the exception than the norm. Kirwan studied how quarterbacks fared in their first full season as starters, and it isn’t pretty.

“You can expect them to throw more interceptions than touchdowns and complete maybe 40-45 percent of their passes,” Kirwan said.

Aaron Rodgers was another exception to the rule, mostly, Kirwan said, because he sat on the bench for a couple of years and learned. Rodgers was not thrown to the fire.

“Quarterbacks in their first full year as a starting quarterback will struggle, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be the next Peyton Manning,” Kirwan said.

Even Manning, largely thought to be the best quarterback in the NFL, had problems his rookie year, Kirwan noted.

Kirwan mentioned Freeman and Miami’s Chad Henne as quarterbacks who will start for a full season for the first time in their careers barring injuries, who will have problems this season.

But that doesn’t mean they won’t be solid quarterbacks, Kirwin notes,  it’s just a growing and learning experience.

Joe wishes everyone a Happy Fourth of July. Joe hopes all Bucs fans will have a good time today celebrating Uncle Sam’s 234th birthday.

Let’s see, what to do?

Drink beer?

Go to the beach?

Gawk at scantily clad babes (like lovely Bucs cheerleader Ashley Lamb pictured to the right)?

Drink beer?

Eat ribs and corn-on-the-cob?

Go to the beach?

Drink beer?

Gawk at scantily clad babes?

Drink more beer?

Go to the beach and watch fireworks?

So many many choices.

Joe will continue to bring you Bucs news and commentary throughout this wonderful weekend, Joe’s favorite weekend of the year. Remember, on Tuesday, Joe’s going to have two major announcements he is sure all sports fans in the Tampa Bay area and beyond will enjoy.

For now, enjoy the Fourth of July!

See if you can guess who David Lee Roth is singing about in this gender-bending video below.